1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a workflow management system for a telecommunications corporation and more particularly to a workflow management system for managing and tracking new telecommunications Service Orders from order entry through provisioning and testing.
2. Related Art
Processing telecommunication Service Orders, from the time they are requested by customers, to the time they are implemented in the network, is an intricate and complicated process involving numerous activities that must be completed by various groups within a telecommunications company. Generally, many of these activities depend on one another in that they cannot begin until others are completed. This interdependency between workflow activities and the various telecommunication organizations, make it difficult to process telecommunication Service Orders in an economical and efficient manner.
Conventionally, processing telecommunication Service Orders is largely a manual process where Service and Work Orders (collectively and individually referred to as orders), are manually transferred from one organization to the next as tasks are completed. The transfer of these orders is generally accomplished via internal mail, facsimile, electronic messages and the like. Typically, such organizations receive little or no advance notice about orders before they arrive, and therefore have little or no time to plan and prepare for the activities involved.
Further, if an order is held up in an organization, for one reason or another, it is difficult to determine the reasons for delay and the identity of the group which is responsible for the delay. Often, telecommunication companies only find out about a delay when customers complain that a service has not been installed by the Customer Committed Due Date. Clearly, when this occurs it is too late to maintain customer satisfaction.
Therefore, what is needed is an efficient and economical system and method for processing telecommunication orders and for managing and tracking the workflow associated with processing orders for telecommunication services.